愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Six dead after bus plunges off bridge into river in Spain

The wreck of a bus lies in the Lerez river after it plunged while crossing a bridge in Cerdedo-Cotobade, northwestern Spain, on December 25, 2022. (Photo by Brais Lorenzo / AFP) (Photo by BRAIS LORENZO/AFP via Getty Images)
The wreck of a bus lies in the Lerez river after it plunged while crossing a bridge in Cerdedo-Cotobade, northwestern Spain, on December 25, 2022. (Photo by Brais Lorenzo / AFP) (Photo by BRAIS LORENZO/AFP via Getty Images)
Share

Six people died and two were injured after a passenger bus careened off a bridge and plunged into an overflowing river in northwestern Spain, emergency services said on Sunday.

Two survivors - the vehicle's 63-year-old driver and a female passenger - were pulled out of the river by firefighters with rope and taken to nearby hospitals with varying degrees of injury.

The driver tested negative for alcohol and drugs, a police spokesperson told Reuters.

The spokesperson added that the search-and-rescue operation around the bridge had now concluded, while engineers attempted to find a way to safely recover the wreckage from the river Lerez.

The river's strong current and high flow due to heavy rains sweeping the Galicia region hampered efforts to retrieve the bodies throughout the weekend.

The coach from the company Monbus was traveling between the cities of Lugo and Vigo on Saturday night and had stopped at a penitentiary center near the site of the accident.

It skidded off a straight road on the bridge for reasons that remain unclear and plunged into the water in a fall of at least 40 metres (131 feet) at around 9.30 p.m. local time (5.30 p.m. EST).

Emergency services were first alerted by a call from a passerby who noticed the bridge's protective barrier had been severely damaged. Shortly afterwards, they received a second call from inside the bus as it was filling up with water.

The river remained above its overflow threshold throughout the night, forcing emergency rescue workers to suspend the operation for nearly two hours before resuming in the morning.

Authorities at first reported a total of nine people onboard the bus when it fell, based on the driver's testimony, though the count is now believed to have been eight based on missing person reports filed by relatives.

The regional president of Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, pointed to the "very bad" weather conditions as one of the possible causes of the accident.

Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Peter Graff

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.

Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.

Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray鈥擲aint-Michel鈥擯arc-Extension borough on Thursday.

The Ottawa Police Service has identified the woman who was stabbed to death at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive Thursday morning.

Local Spotlight

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.